


4-Person Care Package

by AcornScorn



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28370049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AcornScorn/pseuds/AcornScorn
Summary: Four times Roman seeks out help from the other Sides, and one time they all help him out instead.
Kudos: 28
Collections: Sanders Sides 2020 Gift Exchange





	4-Person Care Package

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas ServantPrincess! I really liked the idea of Roman getting patched up from the other Sides after fighting in the Imagination, so I hope you enjoy!

1\. It's quiet in Roman's room.

Too quiet.

There's only one person he's willing to see now. His entire body is bruised and aching, and he just wants to lay down in something soft and distract himself with light jokes and puns. He won, but the satisfaction doesn't ease any of the pain as he limps towards the door and gave it a careful knock.

"Hey, kiddo," Patton murmurs, the second he opens it. It's like he can tell, somehow, the way he steps aside for Roman and invites him in with just a smile. Even so, it looks a little sad. "Long day?"

"Something like that," Roman says. There's blood on his uniform, but when Patton rubs a hand over the stains they disappear. That was at least one pro to living in a mindscape. Patton ushers him to the floor, where he's built something of a fort full of stuffed animals and blankets that Roman falls into as soon as Patton's finished wiping off the rest of the dirt on him.

"Tell me about it," Patton says, from beside Roman where he's collapsed. His glasses have slid off his face, but he stares at Roman with wide eyes full of awe and makes no move to put them back on. "What'd you fight?"

And Roman tells him. He speaks of the bandits, six of them ganging up on him. He tells Patton of the prince he rescues, of the king he had to fight to prove his worth and reputation.

"That's silly," Patton says suddenly. Roman pauses, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Everyone knows who you are! This king was probably a fake."

Roman laughs, feeling some of his confidence bubble up at Patton's words. Now that he's outside of the Imagination, it seems obvious, but in there, he had fought tooth and claw to defend his name.  
He talks until he's almost asleep, and that's when he feels Patton take hold of his arm, rolling his sleeve back so he can finally take care of the cuts across Roman's body. He always takes care of Roman when he thinks Roman is asleep. Roman thinks it's because he doesn't want Roman to feel embarrassed about it, but how could he? Pat's always taken care of them-all of them-and he does it with confidence. 

Maybe things are different when Patton's not there to soften the blows, Roman thinks to himself. Maybe the reason Patton does it when Roman is asleep is because it's easy to see the guilt in his face when he knows he can't stop Roman from his destiny and his role in Thomas' life. 

2\. Sometimes, Roman prefers routine.

With Logan, it's always the same. Two quick, quiet knocks. A pause, and the sound of papers rustling as Logan closes whatever book he's reading before he gets up. Roman waits only a few seconds before the door swings open, revealing Logan as he's adjusting his glasses with his other hands.

"Roman. It's late, but good evening. Are you-" His eyes flit down and he cuts himself off mid-sentence. Without a word, he pushes the door open the rest of the way and takes hold of Roman's hand, pulling him towards the desk. Roman lets Logan inspect him from head to toe, fingers gently grazing against his cuts and bruises, never pressing down hard enough to hurt as he inspects them one by one. 

"I keep telling you it's dangerous," Logan says. It's true. His reprimands are a part of the routine as well, but with them comes a first-aid kit Logan keeps tucked hidden underneath his desk. "I guess you're as averse to listening as you are to fighting easier opponents, unfortunately."

Though his tone is sarcastic, Roman sees the crease in between his eyebrows. It's a tell-tale sign that Logan is concerned. Roman wonders how bad he must look, to make Logan fret this much.

Logan always starts with his hands, wrapping them in gauze where Roman's knuckles have been bruised and where his skin has been scraped after he's fallen to the ground. He moves on to Roman's front, padding on gauze and offering stitches for the deepest wound across Roman's back (he politely declines).

They don't talk-Logan is too focused on the task that is patching Roman up, and Roman is too focused watching Logan's expression change whenever he moves onto a different injury.

3\. And other times, Roman likes to hide.

It used to be the hardest thing for him to seek Virgil out, because talking to Virgil used to be SO difficult. But they're better now. Virgil understands Roman when he doesn't have the energy to speak-perhaps even more than when he does, in fact, talk. Sometimes it's easier to go to Virgil because he doesn't stare in the way Patton and Logan do. He just lets Roman cower under the sheets, hiding from his wounds and thoughts, until he's ready to be helped. He can't even knock. He's too exhausted to do more than bump his forehead against the door and press his ear against it to listen for a response.

"Who's there?"

"...it's me, Virg."

He's bustled in so quickly his vision swims, but Virgil's hands on his shoulders stabilize him. 

"Roman, why did you-"

He doesn't finish his sentence, too distressed to do so. Roman offers a smile even as the split in his lip burns and makes him wince right after.

"Because someone has to fight," he murmurs, scooting back into Virgil's bed. Virgil understands immediately, and carefully, his soft blankets are pulled up to Roman's neck, heavy and secure and SAFE. It doesn't take long before the only light in the room, a candle on Virgil's desk, is blown out, and then the bed shifts as Virgil joins him on the bed, laying down so their backs are pressed together and Roman can match their breathing. It helps him feel steady and safe. He can fight in the imagination, but out here, in the vastness of all of Thomas' feelings and emotions, he doesn't stand a chance handling it alone. 

"I should probably take a look," Virgil says at last, when Roman's adrenaline finally wears out and he lets out a long-suffering sigh. Roman rolls over at the same time he does, and holds out a hand when Virgil offers his own. There's a brief pause as Virgil inspects him, vision much better in the dark than Roman's own. He can't see Virgil's expression, but he can feel when he squeezes his hand, hear the soft sigh of disappointment as Virgil sees the deep cut on his shoulder that tore through the fabric of his shirt. 

"Deep breaths," Virgil reminds him, when Roman tries to sit up and look at the cut himself. "I don't need you freaking out about how this looks."

"Trust me," Roman says. "I'm well aware of how bad it looks. It's on my body, remember?"

"Then you should know I need you to be still so I can take care of this," Virgil snaps, voice dipping low and dangerous. He sighs, takes a deep breath to steady himself. 

"You need to... to take this stuff more seriously," Virgil says, which is... new. He's never discussed it before. Roman lifts his head up to stare at his friend. 

"Since when do you care?" he asks, surprised. Virgil stares back incredulously.

"What? Roman, I've always cared. I'm anxiety personified, remember?"

Ah. Right. 

"Besides," Virgil continues. "We're friends, and I don't like knowing that you come here because you don't want Pat or Logan worrying about you. I worry, too. A lot."

"Obviously. You're anxiety personified."

The weak pinch he gets to his other arm stings, but it's worth it to see Virgil ease up just a little.

4\. And sometimes, secretly, Roman lets himself get discovered. 

He almost doesn't hear the door open, but he does hear the click of the lock. "Sorry, not sorry," Janus whispers as a greeting, and Roman hums from his floor where he's let himself collapse after another barely-managed victory. He wonders sometimes what it means on the days when he loses this badly. If it's a sign of Thomas' creativity struggling, or if Roman really is just that awful at fighting even when his enemies come from his own thoughts. 

"You look stunning," Janus quips, as he helps Roman sit up so he can help with his wounds. Janus always comes prepared, though he never brings up the fact that he visits with a first-aid kit and painkillers. 

The medicine helps a little as he begins covering the many cuts and scrapes scattered across Roman's body. His hands are unsure, fumbling over the first-aid kit sometimes, dropping bandaids and cream when he's not paying attention, but he doesn't stop.

"It's not too bad this time," he hisses, glaring at Roman from under his hat, which means, 'it's pretty bad this time'. Roman snorts and reaches up to flick his hat off his head. Janus, for all his mock irritation, doesn't even react. He's too busy trying to set a band-aid on Roman's hand. "You probably DON'T need stitches."

Roman winces. 

"Just do whatever you have to," he tells Janus, throwing his other arm over his eyes as he leans back until he's laying on the floor. "I don't want to see it."

And even though he can tell Janus is irritated, there's no denying the unmistakeable sigh as Janus tears open a pack of alcoholic wipes. "This won't hurt at all, Roman," he says. 

Sometimes Roman wishes he could lie as well as Janus does, if only to keep from disappointing him whenever he comes back to the mindscape like this. 

\---

Roman's just made it out of the Imagination, freshly bruised and aching, when he sees Patton standing by the door to his room. His sword hangs down at his hip, dragging across the floor with every shuffled step. 

"Hey, Pat."

"Hi, kiddo." There's that familiar smile, returning almost in full-force at the sight of Roman. "Another victory?"

He looks away. "Barely."

"Well, good job. Come on, I bet you're tired."

Roman nods. "Thanks for waiting, Pat."

Patton opens the door for him. "It's not just me."

He freezes at the sight of Logan and Virgil sitting on the edge of his bed, and even more surprising, Janus leaning against the wall, examining his gloves nonchalantly. 

"You were all... waiting for me?" Roman asks, eyes wide. 

Virgil smiles ruefully. "Surprise."

It's a relief. Roman limps into the room, too relieved to care about appearances for once. Patton helps him settle on the bed and press a cup of hot tea in his hands. It's soothing and familiar, and he offers his friend a weary smile. Beside him, he hears Logan click his tongue in disapproval and the tell-tale sound of the first-aid kit unlocking before he even looks over. 

"Have you considered wearing actual armor, when you go into combat?" Logan asks, though he quickly delves into mumbling under his breath as he fishes for the necessary tools he'll need to help. Virgil rolls his eyes, offering Roman a secretive smile when Logan is distracted, and nudges him with his knee. His presence, now that he and Roman have a mutual understanding for each other, is a quiet comfort. With just a few seconds of Roman doing his best to match Virgil's breathing, the last of his anxiety melts away as if it was never there in the first place. 

"Thank you," he breathes out. The two words are all Virgil needs to hear, and he scoots backwards to let Janus take his place on the bed instead, who shakes his head in mock disapproval at Roman as well.

"Tell me you slayed enough monsters to get something good out of it, at least," Janus hisses, and though Virgil and Patton chuckle, Roman laughs out loud at seeing Logan's disgruntled expression before he has to cut himself off to save himself from the pain of the bruise in his side. As soon as he does, Patton is holding out an ice pack, letting Roman take it in exchange for his sword. "It's time to take a break, my highness," Patton says, and Roman, for once, is happy to agree.

In the morning, there will be plenty of time for them to discuss what's going on, why Roman keeps showing up worse and worse every time he finishes a fight. Thomas' anxiety is probably playing a part in Roman's close calls, as is Remus' lurking around, hiding as he is. But Roman is okay waiting until then. For now, he's just happy to just be in the comfort of the others, and for once, he's okay letting them protect him instead.


End file.
